Late Mbappe Magic Seals Surprise Top Spot as Alonso’s Real Madrid Edge Getafe

Oh, what a nail-biter it was at the Coliseum this past Sunday night! Real Madrid, with all the subtlety of a cat on a hot tin roof, snatched back the LaLiga lead from Barcelona, thanks to a late, razor-sharp strike by Kylian Mbappe. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for Xabi Alonso’s squad; after Barcelona’s last-gasp winner had them staring down the barrel of second place, the pressure cooker was on. Madrid’s performance? Let’s just say it was more ‘slow burn’ than ‘blazing inferno,’ dominating possession but lacking that killer instinct — until Getafe found themselves down to nine men in quick succession. That’s when Mbappe did what Mbappe does best—calmly slotting home the decisive goal and reminding everyone why he’s the talk of the town this season. If you thought that was just another routine win, think again — with quick-fire reds, tense moments, and a history-making streak by Mbappe, this game had all the makings of a classic. Want the full scoop on this thrilling showdown? LEARN MORE.

Real Madrid reclaimed top spot from rivals Barcelona in LaLiga as Kylian Mbappe’s late goal earned them a narrow 1-0 win over nine-man Getafe on Sunday.

Xabi Alonso’s team came into the match under pressure after Ronald Araujo’s stoppage-time winner for the Blaugrana temporarily sent them down to second place.

But Los Blancos responded to go two points clear at the summit, albeit in unconvincing fashion, after a sluggish performance at the Coliseum.

Despite dominating possession, Madrid lacked a cutting edge and failed to properly test David Soria until the final ten minutes of the contest after two quickfire red cards.

Allan Nyom and Alex Sancris were both sent off within seven minutes of each other, with the former dismissed just 44 seconds after coming on for an aggressive off-ball arm check on Vinicius Junior in the 76th minute.

And Madrid made their man advantage count just three minutes later when Mbappe calmly controlled Arda Guler’s throughball before turning and firing past Soria.

Getafe’s collapse continued as Sancris was handed a second yellow card in the 84th minute for a reckless lunge in on Vinicius, putting the result beyond Jose Bordalas’ side.

Madrid almost added a second in stoppage time when Vinicius scooped a clever pass over the top for Alvaro Carreras, who flashed his shot narrowly wide.

FT: @GetafeCFen 0-1 @RealMadridEN
80′ @KMbappe
@emirates pic.twitter.com/4xRQx9eV0z

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) October 19, 2025

Data Debrief: Mbappe’s scoring streak continues

Madrid have now won eight consecutive La Liga meetings with Getafe, keeping clean sheets in seven of those matches.

For Getafe, the defeat marks their 31st loss to Madrid in the top-flight – their most against any single opponent (P41 W6 D4). They have also lost more home games to Los Blancos (13).

But Madrid’s win was spearheaded by the in-form Mbappe. He is the first player for the club to score 10 or more goals in his first nine games of a LaLiga season (10 goals in 2025-26 since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014-15 (17).

Madrid registered 23 shots, 10 of which were on target, but ended up underperforming their expected goals (xG) of 1.96.